New semiconductor technologies for power electronics

With the silicon power devices limits being reached, there is a need for new semiconductor technologies with higher efficiency, power density, voltage, current and switching speed. The materials that suit these requirements are called wide band semiconductors, featuring silicon carbide, gallium nitride, gallium arsenide and diamond. This paper presents the main characteristics of work of the gallium nitride transistor, with a brief comparison between the technologies mentioned above. Also, an experimental setup based on a double pulse tester is used to evaluate and compare the conduction and switching losses in different conditions.